Change in Management
by MagnificentSoul
Summary: Keitaro decides he's finally had enough of the Hinata girls attitudes and wants major changes that stay permanent this time! (Don't like, don't read) Chapter 2: Let's Make a (housing) Contract!
1. Prolouge:The Death of Keitaro Urashima

Recently, I've been reading some of the Hinata fandoms "What if Keitaro got his act together and left the Hinata/told off the girls" fics and decided I wanted to try my hand at it.

Love Hina belongs to Akumatsu Ken, while this fic belongs to me.

* * *

It was another day of the same thing as Keitaro Urashima entered the Hinata Inn to switch form his job as Seta's assistant to the Inn/dorm landlord – he'd would walk into the room and Naru would hit him because of something he did she thought was perverted, then Motoko would enter and hit him because he had upset Naru into hitting him for being a pervert. Then he'd walk into a different room and get kicked in the head by Su and Sarah, the former as a greeting (or so she claimed) and the latter for working with her father and keeping him from her (though she could easily just ask to tag along to see him when he was at the university), then Mitsune/Kitsune would enter jokingly claiming he was molesting the two and Naru and Motoko would come at him again. Then he'd go see Au-_big sis _Haruka, and get hit for screwing up her title again. Then he'd return upstairs and see Shinobu, say something nice that she took out of context, get accused of molestation again by Kitsune/Mitsune, and in come Motoko and Naru from no where to "punish him". Then he'd go to his office to look at bills and study, only for one of then to burst in to either yell at him or hit him. Then he'd go to clean springs, have the girls ignore the cleaning sign he painstakingly set up, walk in, and be dog pilled for peeking he never intended. Then finally, he'd head to his room, run into Mutsumi, who would faint on him, a cry of rape from guess who, and you know who else would give him a one way ticket half way across Tokyo, forcing him to take several buses back home and try to reach his room – only for the whole process to start over again.

But it began to eventually feel different somehow, as did the days following. For quite sometime now recently, he felt something slowly build up inside him. He wasn't sure what it was, but every time the girls had hit him, yelled at him, or accused him of doing something lecherous, it popped up and caused the sudden urge to hit them back, to yell as accusatory and loudly as they had. He had attempted to push it down; after all, it was all his fault – tripping on thin air and into Naru's cleavage, accidentally enraging Motoko by admiring her training stance with what she claimed to be "a perverted gleam in his eye", making Shinobu cry with his antics, getting set up for one of Kitsune's pranks, letting his guard down for Su to kidnap him for her latest experiments, catching Mutsumi when she passed out and looking as if he were about to do something indecent to her, working with Sarah's father and earning the little blonde American's possessive ire, forgetting to call Haruka big sister – and more.

Every single thing that went wrong in the Hinata Inn – no, every thing that went wrong in the **world**, was always traced back to him. And who could blame them

But no matter how hard he tried, the feeling just persisted. Whats more, like the feeling's slow build up, that apologetic side of him began to grow weaker and weaker with each passing day as he tried to push it down. It made Keitaro feel like he was behind a huge damaged dam; constantly plugging up holes and cracks in the foundation to keep it from bursting, only for a new one to take the others place.

Keitaro wasn't sure what was coming over him, but he wished it stopped.

But at the same time though, a tiny part of him wanted it to continue.

* * *

It was another day at the Hinata Inn, and all the girls seemed to be in a good mood as they left to for school or work or drinking as usual, unawares of the oppressive aching that had drape over their beloved landlord when he awoke that morning, leaving him cross and quite irritable. He had become distracted in class, felt like vomiting whenever stupid Naru's (when did he use that word with her?) name came up, and it had taken almost everything in him to stop himself from snapping at anyone who tried to ask what was wrong. He tried everything from drawing to buying his favorite foods to even studying – but the feeling kept following him like a persistent, angry bee to the point that he had to skip work with that idio**t** Seta(idiot? that's not right) because it had been left him feeling so under the weather. He had hoped that he might lose it by doing his duties at the dorms.

Instead, the feeling just compounded as he dizzily tried to finish his chores; checking out the heater (that whore Mitsune(when did he start call her that?) was complaining about chills and made a crass joke about her nipples hardening that he had no energy to be embarrassed about), adjusting the floor boards and roof tiles, checking the doors, and fixing up the damages caused by stupid (why did he use that word again?) Naru's punches and **bitch**(when did he use that word?) Motoko's sword.

But what frightened him the most was that painful desire to throttle those witches every minute they came near him to kick and punch him for no goddam reason again (When did he start talking like this?). It didn't even go away when Shinobu kindly asked if he was alright after noticing how off balanced he'd been ((not that the brat cares) What was he saying?!) . And that feeling that had been bothering him for the past months was now pushing back with full force, and he wasn't certain he could keep it down anymore (Did he want to tho**ugh?**(Yes he did!)).

The kind-hearted part of Keitaro worked tirelessly to keep the dam intact, but the cracks started coming in multiples and even he was reaching his limit.

* * *

He eventually retreated to his room without dinner, slumping against the wall as he held his head. What was going on with him? When did he get so easily irritated? And this feeling bubbling up – what was it? What was it doing to him?

What did it want?

Suddenly the door slammed open and Motoko stormed in as she immediately began to tear into him about skipping dinner and how insulting doing so had been to Shinobu, who painstakingly cooked it for them to enjoy (_I'm not feeling well that's why. And if it's such a problem why can't the brat come up here to yell at me instead of-_(_Stop stop! I don't meant that I-_(_Yes I_**_ do!_**))).

Keitaro tried to explain he was not feeling well, but his brain locked up and refused to do so, allowing Motoko to continued on and on about how horrible he was and his head was throbbing and how Shinobu had cried because she thought she did something to make him skip dinner and his chest hurt and how all males were so heartless of others efforts and why won't the pain go away and Mitsune told her about that crass nipple job he had harassed her with and how long has she been tal**king** and why was he-

He never heard it, because he had cut her off to say "**Oh just shut up Motoko.**"

She had crossed the room in nearly two seconds flat to strike him at least eight times with her bokken

"You cur! Talking to a woman like that, you really have no shame!"

She struck him a few more times and added a few more insults before sheathing her wooden sword back into its casing and stomped out ten times angrier than when she had arrived "Your lucky Granny Hina asked us to let you stay here or else you'd be on the street! Might be an actual improvement on things here though…"

He sat up once she was gone, rubbing his swollen face as he tried to wipe the blood off, but the feeling was still festering; actually, Motoko's arrival had seemed to make it more worst than when he had first gotten home, and the dam seemed to be breaking part in multitudes as his Kindhearted half had to abandon some parts to protect the integrity of the others.

Wasn't this his Inn though? wasn't Motoko the one being allowed to stay, not the other way around?

But she's been here a long time, it was her home too. Besides, he really shouldn't have taken that tone with her, after all, it was** his first**.

What? Not, what he meant was **that if that bitch cares so much about how she's talked to she should **be treated with respect because **I don't see her damn name on the land deed or that senile witch tricking her into coming into a dorm filled with **kind hearted girls who **don't give a damn about you**

What was going on - He shouldn't be doing this, why was he thinking this? Why was he thinking any of these things.

**Because** **it's **not _**true**_

* * *

Then in walked Naru, fully clad in towel and looking ready to plop down into bed until she saw Keitaro on the floor staring at her. She panicked upon realizing he was there and what she was wearing before shifting into fury as she begin demanding he stop leering at her so lecherously and asking why he was in her room and other things he couldn't hear as his brain began to go red and a voice began whispering to him.

**Stop taking this.** She's just upset. **She not the boss of you. **I shouldn't have**-** **Are you her landlord or is she yours?**

He wasn't sure what it was saying either, but some part of him was agreeing with it and his anger boiled more and more until-

"…**My room.**"

"What?"

Suddenly, he shot up, eyes wild as a strange force flowed through him, feeding the feeling as it began to reach critical mass "**I said it's _my room_ Naru! Of course I'm in here! Why don't you use that pea brain of yours you praise so much to remember that before you come waltzing in here half naked like you own the damn place!**"

Naru's eyes went wide as her first flew, sending the bespectacled man across his room once more

"Don't you dare ever talk to me like that you pervert! I should just do us all a favor and kick your sorry butt out of here!"

She huffed and stepped out of his room, slamming the door behind her

He glared at the spot she had stood, and where Motoko stood, and where all the other girls stood whenever they came into his room unannounced to scream at him or trick him or hit him or insult him or threaten him or whenever they wanted something out of him, and something snapped.

And a feeling rose. Familiar, yet foreign.

It was white hot, burning, and **irritating**!

* * *

And before he could do anything about it, the dam burst forth, burying the weak-hearted Keitaro and leaving something…else in his place. The waters drowned the weaker side and the other one conducted their flow throughout him as the feeling he had been trying to hold down finally gave its name.

* * *

Rage.

Yes, rage, that was it!

That feeling that was overtaking him was rage!

Where it was coming from, he wasn't sure, but he knew that's what he was feeling!

He was done!

He was done with trying to pacify Naru.

He was done with trying to defrost Motoko.

He was done with getting misunderstood by Shinobu.

He was done with getting scapegoatted by Kits-Mitsune.

He was done with being lead on by Mutsumi.

He was done with being Suu's guinea pig and Sarah's punching bag.

He was done with Aunt Haruka (He didn't care what she said, that's what he was using!), Granny Hina, and Seita using him.

He was done putting up with all their little problems and getting bullied for it and trying to be the nice upstanding guy who got ground into the dirt for so much as breathing.

And most of all – he was done with having himself abused, insulted, harassed, and beaten over a stupid childhood promise that showed no signs of being properly reciprocated, let alone fulfilled.

He was just done period.

But he wasn't going to run away – oh no.

After all, he had a duty to the inn; it was his second home, his heritage. He had no where else to go, not after all the bridges he had burned with people who could take him in. – and let's face it, those girls would try to kill themselves ten seconds after he left and come drag him back to start the hellish cycle again.

But he was not going put up with it anymore.

He was going to fix everything – from how the inn is run to the people living in it.

Things would change, and he was going to see too it that they stayed changed for the better.

_Don't worry Granny Hina, I'll keep my promise to you and "help" the girls with their problems – I'm just going to change my approach a bit…_

And he knew just how, because for once in both their lives, Naru and Motoko had the right idea…

* * *

Haruka blinked as her nephew stormed past her, gliding up the stairs before Haruka could even great him.

She leaned against the counter and took a huge drag of her cigarette _He's home early again…_

It was becoming a ritualistic occurrence as of late – he would always be home before any of the girls and locked himself in the managers office doing lord knows what. Naru and Motoko had attempted to grill him on the matter, but they had recently found themselves unable to enter it as of late, and every time they cornered him, he slipped out of their grasp and seemed intent on avoiding them like the plague. In fact, he hadn't spoken to any of the residents or gone outside his office during that time.

Many of the girls simply assumed it was a repeat of the isolationist study practice he had engaged in for the entrance exams, but Naru insisted there weren't any major tests or events coming up at school and Seta exclaimed worry over his part-timer as he was skipping work over whatever he had engrossed himself in.

There was also a change in his responses when he was caught with no where to run. Every time he found himself on the receiving end of a her fan or Naru Punch or Motoko's sword or Kitsune's scams or Shinobu's crying or Mutsumi's fainting or Sarah and Su's kicks, rather than cry or apologize he just…glared at them, like those wild animals that get caught after going on a rampage. She couldn't tell what was going on in her nephew's head anymore, but none of it seemed good from what she saw…

But her biggest concern at the moment was the inn itself. Very recently, Haruka had felt a change in the house. It wasn't like when Granny had left for the hospital after she had broken her leg or Kanako's arrival – it was…sinister, coldhearted even. At first they though it was just issues with the utilities and tried having Keitaro fix them, but that didn't seem to be the case anymore. The girls have been reporting chills in the air, the waters in the spring turning scalding hot sometimes when they tried to bathe, an oppressive presence hanging over them wherever they went in the house, the teashop owner had even received news from Shinobu that she had heard noises coming from the Annex itself.

Chills and overheated hot springs were one thing, but the voodoo cauldron that was the annex of the Hinata inn, that area of mysticism and witchcraft, acting out as well – that was a sign of trouble to come.

A storm was brewing over the Hinata Inn, and Haruka had the strangest feeling she and the girls were going to be in the thick of whatever was coming.

She took another drag of her cigarette, eyes icily fixed at the ceiling "What are you up to this time…"

* * *

It was perfect; everything was going exactly as he had hoped it would. The girls and Big si-**_Aunt_** Haruka were going to be out the entire day, which gave him plenty of time to set his plan in motion.

He had already sent out the paperwork, set up the seals, thrown out the trash, place his contacts – he had everything he needed.

Now he just had to wait for them to arrive.

Everything would change now…

* * *

Naru Narusegawa, exhausted and worn out from a day of shopping and relaxing with her friends, free of the perverted misdemeanors of her landlord/boyfriend, as he had once again disappeared on them, was eagerly awaiting to take a soak in her dorms famed hot springs before retiring to her room to put away her newly bought clothes and begin studying for school tomorrow as she stepped inside.

Or at least she would have if the door had opened.

* * *

A/N: And it begins

Yes, I'm one of those people who take old school harem comedies way too seriously and deconstruct them like no tomorrow. And yes, I had fun writing this way too much as well (Angry!Keitaro is bestest Keitaro in my book).

As you can tell, this fic is timeline deep into the LH timeline, but way before the Momal arc. I hope I got the groups actions in character as it has been a long time since I've read the series. I also hoped I describe the gradual death of Kind-Hearted!Keitaro, because his existence is the only thing I could use to plausibly explain why someone like that would let something like what happened in the series happen to him on a daily basis without so much as a "What the Hell, Girls!".

My headcannon is that Keitaro does feel resentment against the girls whenever they beat on him as well as everything else – he just suppresses and never acts on it because years of Granny Hina's influence and abuse from the residences has given him a mix of Stockholm syndrome and Learned Helplessness and has convinced himself he can't fight back against them. And since he never gave himself a proper outlet for any of those feelings, it created the self-centered door matted wimp we all hate and love!

Now as we humans know, holding in your feelings bad (Queen Elsa can attest to that), especially when that feeling is negative like anger, because doing so leads to bad stuff like ulcers and tumors and migraines and road rage and failed tests and throwing stuff, and that's bad, m'kay? So I figured when (no ifs about this) he did start to crack, it would be a bit more dramatic, with Keitaro fighting tooth and nail to keep his "good-side" in charge while suppressing the "evil" urges to finally start fighting back infecting him(you know, like a puppy getting cancer… I'm sorry, that was uncalled for), as we all in the fandom can sympathize with.

See you next chapter


	2. Chapter 1: Under Lock and Key

Love Hina belongs to Ken Akumatsu. This Fic Belongs to me

* * *

The skies over the Hinata Inn slowly darkened as the female residences awaited Naru to let them inside. However, the redhead was finding difficulty getting the doorknob to turn as she realized they were locked out

"Why's the door locked? Didn't I tell that idiot we'd been back at four." She grumbled while digging into her purse to grab her spare key.

Shinobu nervously adjusted the grocery bags in her hands "M-maybe Sempai just wanted to make sure no one broke in while he was in the office. He's been in there a lot lately, he doesn't even notice when we get home, so he might just of locked it and forgot we were going to be back by now…"

Motoko clicked her tongue as Naru inserted the key "Unlikely – the vile male probably just wants time to dig around our rooms for his perverted pleasure while we were out."

Rather than a satisfying click as the door unlocked, the key refused to bulge

"What the-" the redhead growled as she struggled with the knob "It's still not opening!" She stared at her key for a moment. It looked fine and undamaged, so it wasn't the problem, and the door didn't look any different. Then again she had had it since she first began living in the Hinata dorms, so maybe there was damage she wasn't seeing "Hey, can someone let me borrow their key – mine's not working."

Mutsumi skipped over to her childhood friend, handing over her own key with a huge smile "Here, use mine."

Naru thanked the melon-loving brunette and tried again, only for the lock to remain rigid. It happened again with Motoko's key, and Su's key, and Shinobo's key, and Mitsune's key. Even Haruka's own spare and skeleton keys wouldn't make the door budge.

"You think the lock's broken?" Mitsune asked, eager to get inside to get in her bets for this weeks races and polish off her newly bought beer. "We should have Kei-chan take a look at it once we get inside."

It was a long while before Naru went from jangling the knob to slamming her fist at the door "Hey, Stupid-Keitaro! We're back, open the door already!"

Su tilted her head curiously, swaying back and forth on the balls of her feet "You know, maybe big brother changed the locks – I saw him calling a locksmith last week and this morning."

Everyone paused and stared at the Momollian girl for a while. Changed the locks? While they were out? Without telling them?

Naru was the first to break the awkward silence "Why didn't you say something sooner!?" she said, getting a cheerful hum in return.

"Oh, I was busy organizing my banana collection and upgrading the mecha Tamas and forgot."

"W-why did he change them without telling _us_ though?" Shinobu whimpered, clutching her bags to her chest "He's been so…out of it lately, is that why…"

Naru stared at the doorknob. She couldn't argue that there had been something off with her boyfriend the last couple of days – acting all moody and avoiding them like that. Not that it _bothered_ her mind you, she was glad to have that four-eyed perv out of her hair. Still, he had been…different the past couple of days, and this wasn't the different that had happened when he left with Seta on that dig, this was…scary different, like that day her mother introduced her to…_**that girl's **_father. It had bothered her greatly though, making her wonder if something had happened…

But even then, that was no excuse to pull something like this in her book "Whatever it is, he better get down here and explain it!"

"I agree with Naru," Motoko said, bokken slowly being drawn "Whatever game Urashima's trying to play with us is not one that will be taken lightly."

It was a long while before they heard footsteps and were relieved that Keitaro was finally coming back to fix things – until a voice hissed at them from behind the door, they slowly realize that voice belonged to… Keitaro? "What do you want?"

"There you are!" Naru puffed her cheeks out and placed a hand on her hips "Where have you been?! We've been waiting out here for forever – hurry up and open the door, we just got back from shopping and I need to put my stuff away in my room so I can study."

"No."

Naru blinked. The answer had come so quickly. She had expected the door to be opened and that pathetic idiot Keitaro to ushering them inside and offering to take their things (not that she'd let him touch the bag holding her new lace panties) "What do you mean no? Open the door. Everyone's tired and wants to go inside."

"No."

Her eyes twitched "Come on, we have to put our stuff away. Let us in."

"No

She ground her teeth "Look, we're all tired and I have classes tomorrow, so open the door already you idiot."

"No."

She started to seethe and clenched her fists. This was getting annoying now "Okay, I'm not sure what kind of game this is but it's getting old quick. Now open the door right now before I – "

"No."

Naru saw red as she dug her fist into the door, surprised it was making no indent but too angry to care "What do you mean no?! Open this door right now!"

"No."

Naru sneered as she turned around and banged on the door again "Why not?! And why don't any of our keys work?! Su said you called a locksmith! What's going on?!"

She pulled back and snorted "Oh I get it now – maybe Motoko was really on the money with her comment earlier. A pitiable man like you couldn't handle the fact that I wasn't giving in to your advances, so you called the locksmith last week so you could figure out how to get into our rooms to sniff around to get off at our stuff. Now you're scared that we've caught you and are trying to get out us rightly beating that deprave ass of yours into the ground by keeping the door locked! But there's no getting out of this! So if you unlock the door now and apologize, I promise I'll just beat it in half way."

There was no response (though Shinobu did give a squeak of embarrassment at the word "get off", and Kitsune seemed to be whispering something to her that feed her blush.) and the redhead just hit the door, hoping that the reverb shook him up "You didn't go through my clothes did you? You better not have touched any of my underwear you disgusting pervert!"

There was no response, and Naru hit the door harder this time "Did you hear me? Answer me you dumbass!"

There was still nothing, so the redhead continued banging the door and yelling profanities at the man behind it until chilling laughter filled the air, causing Naru and the other Hinata women to nearly seize up as they realized it had, like the voice, belong to him.

"What's so funny?!"

There was another laugh as Keitaro, in a disturbingly calm but cheerful tone, stated curtly "I'm just amazed at how quickly you came up with that ridiculous scenario. You really have an interesting imagination there Naru." Naru slammed her fist into the door again "For your information, I called the locksmith because I wanted to learn how to change all the locks around the Inn, rooms included, and asked him to help me today."

Naru's stopped midknock(if you could call it that). He really changed the locks "Why the hell did you do that?! And without telling us either! How am I supposed to get into my room if the lock's different now?"

There round of laughter "Shut up you idiot! Answer me or – "

He cut her off quickly "I'm sorry Naru, but you don't have a room anymore."

Naru froze and deepened her glare as she slammed her fist down hard and kept it there "What do you mean I don't have a room anymore? What the hell are you taking about?"

"I'm saying what I said; **You **_don't _have a room anymore." Keitaro continued "In fact, none of you do! For too long I've let you guys live like spoiled sheltered princesses in this house and walk all over me, but that ends now!"

Haruka teeth bit into her cigarette as she attempted to keep her wits about her, eyes on the Inn. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky yet the oppressive force within the Inn seemed to be trying to loom over them, as if aiding the bespectacled boy behind the door in his speech. "Keitaro, what are you trying to say?"

"What I'm saying _**AUNT**_ Haruka (Haruka found herself hitting the air with her paper fan the moment she heard that word) – is as of this moment forward, you are _**all**_ evicted from the Hinata inn."

Everyone stared at the door. Evicted? Keitaro was evicting them? Since when? How did he even plan on doing this? Not a single girl knew what was going on, but at the same time they did. One thing was certain to every one of them though – Keitaro had lost his mind.

Shinobu began to shake as Su tried ask her what was going on "W-what are you saying Sempai? Please stop saying such strange things!"

"I agree" Mutsumi said rather scolding, as if she were lecturing a child "This joke's going too far and I think everyone's had enough. Please unlock the door and let us in. This isn't funny anymore…"

"Oh I'm being quite serious Mutsumi," he sneered, causing a wave of fear from, surprising not him, but the inn, to nearly overtake her "I'd tell you to pack you bags, but I already took that liberty of doing that for you."

Motoko blinked, he couldn't have… "What is that suppose to mean?!"

"Look to your left."

Everyone blinked as they did as he asked and gasped - Out on the curb, for the entire world to see, were their belongings. Most were packed away in neat boxes with each Hinata inn tenant's name neatly scrawled on the side. Anything too large or that couldn't fit was next to or on them "It was a bit troublesome packing away all your things, but all things considered, it was worth the effort."

Su had walked up to the door, eyes wide with confusion "Big Brother, what's going on? Why are you doing this?"

There was silence again before he spoke again as clear as the Tokyo sky, but as cold as the tundra "I already told you Su – I've had enough of being your personal whipping boy. You guys always talked about kicking me out and how better off you'd be without me as you beat me and cursed me and tricked me and kicked me and hurt us an– " Keitaro's voice stopped as his throat hitched, like he was chocking on something rotten, (_or chocking period_ Naru hoped) but eventually continued "So I granted your wish, now your all free from me and my "lustful male perversions" and can finally live your lives in peace."

Glances were exchanged, mainly between Naru and Motoko. It was true that there was no patience for their landlords perverted tactics against them in their everlasting battle to preserve their own and their dorm mates chastities from him (even though the former was dating him), and the threat of removal was thrown about when he got particularly bad.

But that was at him, not them!

"Then don't _you_ leave then!" Motoko growled, eying Naru as the redhead's fist slamming had upgraded itself to rapid-fire punches aimed at the frame (why was the door still there?) "What gives you the right to do this to us? This is our dorm! You think you can just throw us all out into the street like we're trash!? Just who do you think you are!?"

"Yeah," Sarah cried, tiny fist pumped in rebellion "Don't act like you own the place you dork! You really think you can get away with this?!"

"Yes, and do you know why?" he asked coldly before his voice rose again "Because I **_do_ **own the place! It's not your dorm – it's **MY **dorm! With **MY** name on it! Given to **ME** by the deed from _**MY**_ grandmother! You're all just a bunch of girls who are living here _provisionally_ here because she felt bad enough for you to offer you a lease and think you're entitled to treat it like it's your own personal castle! I'm surprised kicking you out never crossed my mind sooner, or her mind for that manner, especially with your attitudes. Guess foolish naivety must run in the family."

Naru grit her teeth. Insulting them was one thing but she wasn't going to let him get away with taking about their previous patron that way "Don't call Granny a fool!" the red head hissed "She's the best thing to ever happen to us! Makes me wish she had stayed instead of handing the dorm over to a worm like you! And who are you calling entitled!"

Mitsune stared as a rather toxic verbal war was building up between Keitaro, Naru, Motoko, and Sarah, trying to figure out a way to get out of this. She had always prided herself in the fact that she could get out of any trouble by the skin of her teeth with her silver tongue – she wasn't called Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno for nothing, but right now it felt like heavy lead. She wasn't sure of how serious the threat (no, announcement – the threat had already been given a long time ago) of eviction was, but that fear-driven survival instinct of hers that kicked in every time it seemed she was about to kicked out of a place over rent or have a debt collected on her was ringing in her ears, begging her to delay the inevitable, telling her there was still a chance to salvage the sinking ship if she could just get him to listen for a few minutes.

All landlords/bosses/managers/bartenders/siblings/relatives/bookies had that tiny window in their "Your outta here" speech, a chink in their armor where she could, if done properly, squeeze an extra day or two out of them enough to keep her alive and drinking for another day (if she save enough from her horse betting celebration binge afterwards) . A little smoozing, some buttkissing, and a "heartfelt" apology were all that was needed to make this whole thing water under the bridge. She never considered having to use it on Keitaro of all people though, though that was because he was so easy to get extensions on – he would even spotted her rent a couple of times she cried the right way (and if that failed, she always had her camera ready to take some…interesting pictures with him or any of the others).

But from the yelling he had done, he was already past the "You sweetheart you" Brown-nosing threshold, so she'd have to skip a few parts. Probably.

"H-hey now Kei-chan, girls, let's all calm down now!" Mitsune stammered, eyes nearly pinpricks as she raised her hands in defense, managing to get all eyes on her. She even felt Keitaro stare at her, even though he was inside.

_Good, his listening. Now reel him in _"Now let's not get too hasty here! There's no reason for any of us to be getting upset." She cooed cautiously, grinning nervously as Naru gave a skeptical glare "This is all just a huge misunderstanding, alright? I'm sure if we all sit down and talk this out, we can reach an agreement here. Now I know our sweet old Kei-chan wouldn't say something crazy as he's evicting us!"

"He is."

Beads of sweet collected on the silvernette neck. Yep, definitely past the brown-nosing threshold _Keep going girl, _"And I definitely know our Kei-chan wouldn't just toss us out into the street with nowhere to go."

"He did"

Her palms felt sweaty_ Keep him on the line, put out more bait _"But I see where you're coming from. We screwed up," Naru looked ready to argue against her but Shinobu stopped her (thank god!) "and you have every right to be angry with us" Motoko almost interrupted, but Mutsumi pulled her back (another miracle!) "But doesn't the good lord always talk about second chances? Does reincarnation not offer those with regretful hearts a new lease on life and a chance to redo? Don't video games give you the option to continue and try to beat the final boss again? Isn't our dear country of Japan built on the belief that any person, no matter who they are, should be allowed to reform and start from scratch?"

_Now bring out the net!_ "Did you not come to the Hinata with the hope of escaping from your poor Ronin lifestyle and start anew – and didn't we let you, help you do so? Don't you think it's time you returned the favor?"

He didn't say anything this time– that was a good sign right? It had to be! _Okay Kitsune honey, bring it home! _"So please Kei-chan," she said in the most sincere repentant tone she could give and even got on her knees for good measure (even though he couldn't see her) "give us our second chance. Let's just get inside, talk, and let start over again - put everything back to normal. There's no problem with us…stating from scratch, right?"

It was quiet, so Mitsune took it as him contemplating her words and felt proud of herself – even under pressure like this, she could still pull it off (and out of her ass). Now all that was left was him to tearfully accept her –

"Oh sure **Mi-tsu-ne**," He grumbled sardonically (Keitaro being sarcastic? Did he even know what sarcasm was?) "We can go back to normal and you can go back to telling me you're having trouble paying rent and have a "better deal" before lining me up for a date with Naru's fist! Like three months ago!"

She stiffened. He was still holding a grudge over that? She never meant for Naru to send him into the next district like that, but he really should have seen it coming (plus, it was kind of funny )"Hey now, that's not fair Kei-chan." She pouted, a hesitant worry pulling at her from nowhere and rent survival instinct telling her to shut up now "Now if this is about me telling Naru you were asking for nudes of me in place of rent, it was joke and I'm really sorry, so-"

A cold, painful pressure pressed down on all of them as Keitaro…no, as **something** yelled back "_**OH NOW YOU'RE SORRY!**_"

Everyone coiled back. Even Naru looked on edge as Sarah buried her face into her blouse – was that really Keitaro this time? There was almost no single trace of him in that scream! It sounded so…inhuman.

They could hear his breathing turn ragged behind the door before he spoke in a strained voice "But you bring up an excellent point."

Mitsune blinked "I do? I mean, course I do, when don't I bring up excellent points! Which was..."

"That everyone deserves a second chance," He said, though the tone he was using prevented her from getting her hopes up again "Though you guys have used your fair share of them if I recalled."

"So, since your so _very_ eager to make it up to me, I have a bit of a proposal for you."

Suddenly, a few pieces of paper slide out from under the door. Naru picked it up and handed it to Haruka to read over "These are the changes to both the dorm and your previous leases. The terms are quite clear and fair. It doesn't even have to be a majority vote - just have everyone read over it, sign, with a blood pack for good measure, and the people who agree can live here again."

"And the people who don't?" Haruka asked

"I hear the apartments downtown have pretty nice prices."

There was a collective gulp from three of the residents as Haruka looked over the paper with Naru and Motoko reading over her shoulder. He was right about it being clear cut - all violence was absolutely prohibited, no alcohol (Mitsune would be pissed) in the morning or past 4 pm, rent must be paid every three months on the dot or residents will face eviction and be charged interest (again, poor Mitsune), any damages to the dorm caused by the residents would be charged to and be repaired/paid for by them out of pocket or (if any) by their guardians, younger residents will have all indiscretions reported to their guardians, any and all accusations of sexual harassment or issues with fellow dorm mates **must** be brought to the landlord/manager (_with actual physical proof_) to be discussed before deciding if legal action must be brought and **not** handled on one's own, residents must now assist with maintenance of the dorms (including cleaning the springs, wiping down the halls, dusting, etc.), the springs would be restricted for bath time use only with limited recreational use on weekends and holidays, since the dorm was now going to be coed baths and similar other commodities would be split between sexes, the dojo would now be communal with schedules put up to split up use time depending on what sport/martial art(s) the resident participates in, residents now had a curfew that would be determined in due time, Su's robots were -

Wait.

She looked back three sections, focusing on the word "Coed" until it took up the entire space of the paper. She searched the document until she spotted it atop the header in big bold letters

**Terms of Lease for the Hinata house Coed Dorms**

Unfortunately, Naru noticed it too.

"Wait - your turning the dorms Coed!"

"Not turning," He said quite plainly "turned, as of..two hours ago now that those documents I sent in five weeks ago got validated, the Hinata House is officially Coed. Around the end of the current term at Tokyo U, I will be welcoming the new male residents as well as the others that are coming to replace you if you chose to not return."

* * *

A/N:Clink-Clink. It's Lockdown.

So, we're now on to part two, and the girls have been kicked out of the Hinata.

It is well known fact that the Hinata in houses some rather odd mystical qualities, and it is fanon belief that those qualities make the a sort of intangible sentient that can be utilized by the Urashimas depending on who owns the Inn at the time and if the Inn itself is willing to lend them – so why wouldn't it help Keitaro keep the girls out? After all, it had to suffer too with all the holes left in it's roof with the constant Naru punches and Motoko slices and while Keitaro wasn't the…greatest guy, he still took pretty damn good care of it while he was in charge, better than the girls did the whole time they were there.

My head cannon is the The Hinata is a mix of Empathetic Weapon and Fisher Kingdom – it's powers and state reflect the current owner and, if it feels necessary, give them it's influence.

However, this does not invalidate Keitaro's actions – he is doing this on his own, the Inn's just lending itself as an Ally of sorts. Haruka's, on a deeper level, understands this, but there's a part of her unwilling to accept a possibility she and the girls may have driven the nails in their own coffin...yet. It's like when you know you did something bad (like stealing a cookie or recording over the superbowl without getting approval from the NFL) and caused something worse to happen in turn, but the rest of you has yet to catch up on this.

Speaking of which, for those who are probably wondering why Haruka got kicked out too - while owned by her and herself being a co-Den-mother of sorts for the dorm, the teashop is technically part of the Inn's property, meaning that family or not Haruka is under the same obligations and penalties as the other residents and subject to them if she steps out of line. (Though if I'm wrong I might edit it out later)

I apologies to those who just want to see the girl's kicked to the curb permanently and don't like that Keitaro's offering them a deal, but I plan on doing this fic by giving character development all around to everyone here!

Oh, and thanks for all your comments!

To Samhan: I put their names up to show people that the main characters are going to be part of the story - not sure about pairings Yuri or otherwise at the moment


	3. Chapter 2: Same Hinata, New rules

Love Hina belongs to Ken Akumatsu.

This fic belongs to me

* * *

Haruka almost swallowed her cancer stick in horror. Changed the dorm to Coed? After just announcing that he was evicting them and rewriting their leases so they could come back as long as they signed and agreed to everything written.

He really had cracked – it was the only logical explanation for this Haruka could think of (though a pit forming in her stomach seemed to not agree). Maybe the annex really was influencing him? It wouldn't be the first time the Inn had made one of its manager's lose their gourd; she clearly remembered hearing about a person who watched over it for their great-great grandfather when he had to take care of family emergency. When he had returned, the man was convinced toothbrushes were trying to take over Tokyo to lead way for a codfish invasion.

But she still didn't sense it's presence in Keitaro.

The elder Urashima clutch the paper in her hand _Keitaro, I've seen you play with fire when it comes to the girls a million times over – but this, this is practically shoving a gun down your throat! You know the girls won't go through with this, especially Naru!_

And the redhead in question was making that refusal known as her feral screams went up in volume, as did the ferocity of her attacks. It wasn't enough she had to be on guard for Keitaro's perverted intentions – now he was bringing more of him! "You bastard! First you lock us out, then you say you're evicting us, and _now_ you're saying your bringing more of your disgusting pervert male friends here unless we sign your stupid lease!"

"Disregarding your language, yes." Keitaro said, almost sounding bored "And not _unless_ you sign – **regardless** of whether you sign."

"B-But you can't do that!" Motoko sputtered, nearly dropping her sword "Bringing males into an all-girl dorm is absurd! When did you even have time to do this?!"

"I actually can do this Motoko," He replied "There's a reason Granny gave me the deed. As for when I had time – Well, once I figured out a way to keep you guys out of my office, I made some calls, asked friends if they knew anyone or had friends or relatives coming to Tokyo for school with nowhere to stay, and brought posters to put up around downtown and stopped by the legal offices for the documents every time you and Naru there shot me through the roof. I actually should thank the two of you – this is the first time in years your disregard for my safety actually did something good for me!"

"B-but why?" Shinobu whimpered, shaking as she began squeezing the metaphorical life's blood out of her grocery bag "Why kick us out? Why remake our leases? Why…bring boys here?

The girls heard a creak and thought it was the door giving away before they realized Keitaro was probably just leaning on it "Ever heard of the phrase "Spare the rod and spoil the child"? Granny brought me here three years ago to help you guys get over your mistrust, hatred, and fear of men by having her "sweet-old" grandson show you girls that all guys weren't that bad." Keitaro gave a light bitter chuckle "And we can all see how that little venture's working out, so I decided to change my approach."

"By letting in stupid boys and kicking us out!" Sarah growled

"Pretty much," He said simply "Figure if any of you are ever going to _fully_ get over your issues in dealing with the opposite sex, giving you more exposure to them would do you good. Plus this way you can also realize that those days of you being allowed to run wild and walk all over me are long gone. Think of it as my version of "Tough Love"."

Mutsumi looked rather pale "And you decided the best time to do and say all this was right now?"

"Yes," He said "Be happy I'm even telling you guys this stuff before having you sign the new lease – I came here walking blind without knowing any of you were here, or that the Inn wasn't even an Inn anymore."

Naru felt her blood boiling into overdrive "And what makes you even think we're even going to sign your stupid new lease! For all we know, you probably written it to make us your slave girls or something?"

Keitaro let out an exasperated sigh "If you're that worried about it then just read it and decide what you want to do. There are enough copies for all of you to go over the new policies."

Naru grumbled as she stuck the door twice more before taking the paper Haruka handed out to her and the rest. There were grunts, whimpers, and gritting of teeth as they looked over every single detail: In addition to the basic changes Naru, Haruka, and Motoko read, there was apparently going to be a point system in place in the occurrence of violations, a chore system, and new requirements for dorm leasing to residents not enrolled in school. There was also on each of their papers a section dedicated specifically to each girl, informing them of the restrictions now put on their previous schedules.

All that was going through Naru's mind was _coed coed stupid pervert boys in my dorm coed coed coed bet they'll try peek in on me when I'm changing coed coed can't let him get away coed with this coed he's only bringing them so he can coed and coed against us coed with his coed he'll probably give my room away to some fat coed otaku who likes scratching his coed and has fifty coed stashes COED!_

Motoko's thoughts were no calmer; _Stupid Urashima coed, putting in all these ridiculous rules coed! Sword use is prohibited outside of dojo! Violation will result in either ban on weapon being carried or removal of items! Violence will be met with police action if injury occurs to the victim and charges are asked to be brought! How are supposed to keep the others safe with these coed restrictions? Also, why does the dojo have to be coed communal now, no one here coeds except maybe coed! Security camera's in halls and entrances for safety, what coed was this! Probably wants to use it to coed at us while we coed, the coed! Will contact guardians if coeds persi – contact guardians! D-does that means the elders coed? Big sister Tsuruko Coed?!_

Shinobu seemed to be taking it in a bit more stride, though was shocked at the rules created for house cleaning –_ T-there are so many!_ _Due to the increase of residents; dorm keeping duties will be shared. To accommodate for school schedules and such, an hour and fifty minutes at a specified time to be discussed once all residents arrive will be asked of to complete chores, with weekends and holidays having an extended cleaning time time. Chores will be split into categories and distributed amongst residents. For more large scale duties, teams of 2-3 people or more will be created. __All__ residents must assist in maintenance of the dorm hot springs. Refusal or abandonment of chore duties will result in point violation, restrictions on dorm privileges (i.e. hot spring use, TV, dojo use, etc.), and a doubling of cleaning duties to make up for missed ones…_

Mutsumi had finished going through most of it and was now going through what he had written on health, _Residents must inform the landlord on any prior existing health issues or special dietary needs so that proper steps can be taken to insure wellbeing while living in the dorms. Residents that require daily hospital visits or in-home nurses must provide emergency contact numbers. Residents that require medication are responsible for getting prescriptions and other necessities and must make sure they are on them at all times. Oh my, he really is serious._

Suu seemed to be glossing over everything rather quickly and wasn't sure what was written, but she did know she didn't like the parts that had her name

_Su's robots must be built small scale and for non lethal purposes. If that can not be done, the must be restricted to Su's room or she will be prohibited from continuing their construction. Su's currently built robots have been dismantled and/or donated to Tokyo__U's Engineering and Robotics Departments for their research. Any other robots built as previous will meet the same fate. Su is prohibited from kicking. Su will not use Momallian forms of greeting on other male dorm mates…._

Kitsune was having an eternal meltdown.

_I can't sign this thing – Look at all this! No alcohol past four! Residents must adhere to the newly introduced curfew! Residents must announce ahead of time if they are bringing guests over and must inform landlord of reasons for! Gambling is prohibited within the dorms! Accusations against other residents of crimes or acts related to in a criminal nature (i.e. sexual misdemeanors, theft, vandalism, harassment, etc.) require evidence before they can be pursued and will result in an investigation if possibility of guilt is found! It is advised that elder residents use more appropriate language around younger residents! Damages to dorm or residents items will result in fees to account! _And worst of all, she had to pay rent – on time!

Sarah was this close to throwing a clay statue through the front door. _Where does that dork get off! Assaulting other residents is prohibited! Inappropriate conduct will result in timeouts or stricter punishments! Guardians will be contacted if behavior persists! Younger residents are subject to the same expectations of elder dorm mates and subject to the sa – this is so stupid! Naru can't let this dork get away with this!_

Haruka was rather impressed with the forethought her nephew put into the contract, it was almost like someone else had written it; _Smoking is prohibited within dorms, residents must show respect and proper behavior towards other dorm mates, residents are responsible for their conduct within the dorms, all residents must adhere to the consequences that are to come of violations or further penalties may be dealt…Did he really consider all of this in the past few months?_

But the most important rule was in big bold print – **Any and all decisions, complaints, changes, and additions to the rules or other issues must be addressed to, by way of, and together with the landlord/manager, one Keitaro Urashima.**

Naru crumpled the document in her hands "Are you nuts! There's no way we're signing this!"

The others could almost imagine Keitaro shrugging as he plainly responded "Then don't, means more rooms open for the new residents."

"But you can't just end our leases like that!" she argued "We pay you rent and everything! This isn't fair!"

"Landlord," He said coolly "And sorry to correct you, but I believe your parents are the ones who pay your leases. Which reminds me, if you honestly don't plan on living here anymore I should probably call them – otherwise they won't happy to hear why they don't have to send any payments this month, though I promise to reimburse them."

While Naru argued with their former landlord, Mitsune was thinking. She remembered Naru usually having more free time a week after this month, so they had…almost five weeks before the new residents came and the door to the Hinata closed on them for good. But who knew _exactly_ when these guys were coming, and while she'd never consider it with the way Keitaro usually was, there was a chance he'd simply decide that waiting for them to sign wasn't worth and just let in the new residents early – it's what she'd do, and many a manager and bookie have attempted to pull that on her before.

She looked to the other Hinata girls in hopes of one of them having an idea, until she had her eyes on Su, Shinobu, and Sarah

Motoko was about to ask what was wrong when the silvernette started grinning "Hold it right there Kei-chan! You can evict Me, Naru, and Motoko maybe –" she then pointed a triumphant finger to the elder Urashima and youngest residents "But Su, Sarah, and Shinobu are minors! That's practically child abuse and endangerment! Plus Haruka needs to run her teashop, so you can't get rid of her!"

Naru stopped her yelling when she overheard and smiled. Oh course, he couldn't do that! How could she have forgotten – poor Seta was too busy to watch Sarah 24-7 and needed her here, Shinobu couldn't go back home with her parents still fighting over the divorce, and Su…she wasn't sure how the situation with Su worked, but she was certain whatever it was made this illegal too! And while Haruka said she couldn't take over the dorms because of the teashop, running it meant being here!

Now if she could just get the door to come down she'd–

"I already called Seta to get Sarah," He answered quite dryly, causing the girls to blink and Sarah to feel torn between joy and fear "I informed him some time yesterday that Sarah was no longer going to be able to stay at the Hinata Dorms and told him earlier this morning to come pick her up in half an hour from now. Had a hard time explaining it to him though, he was fussier about it than when I turned in my resignation form to him."

If Naru and Haruka had been sitting they would have fallen over "Wait – you **_QUIT_** your job with Seta!? When?! How?! WHY?!"

"Last week, resignation letter and form in person, I realized I didn't like the job – among other things." Naru's next punch sounded a lot more painful against the wood that time "Now where was I – Oh yes, kids. Like I said, Seta is coming for Sarah. In regards of Shinobu and Su; Su is Motoko's charge according to her old lease, so she's responsible for her now and I have no legal responsibility to house either of them now that I have served the eviction."

Motoko gripped her sword while Suu peered down at her feet sadly, like she was an abandoned puppy who was just told Santa didn't exist

"And Shinobu's old lease put her on as legally independent awhile after we got her parents to agree to let her stay here, so I technically don't have to do anything for her." Shinobu looked heartbroken. She had already left one home and was now being forced to leave her new one (again), this time by her beloved Sempai, who was acting like he didn't care!

"As for Haruka though, you're right. The teahouse is her's to come and go from, so I can't stop her in that respect." Haruka felt like the huge weight that had settled on her shoulders when they had arrived had briefly lifted until what he said next

"BUT – she's still forbidden to step a foot inside here. Even if she isn't a technical resident, she spends enough time here to be considered on. Also, you're all banned from using the steps into the dorm from the teahouse. If you even think about trying to get inside while you're still on eviction notice, I'll have _everyone_ arrested for trespassing."

* * *

Haruka sat in the middle of the semi-circle formed by the boxes of the currently former-Hinata Dorm residents, sipping from a teacup that had long since been emptied. Shinobu sat across from her sobbing miserably with an unconscious Mutsumi leaning on her shoulder while Naru, Motoko, and Sarah tried to break the door leading to the stairs that went up into the Inn. Apparently, whatever Keitaro did to reinforce the door to the Inn outside was done to her own as well, but the trio was determined to see it fall. Kitsune had disappeared into the far end of the shop, liquor in hand, and Su was searching her boxes to see if what he had written about her machines was true.

Sounds of her nephew's last words to them echoed in her mind while reels of the past few weeks flew by – Keitaro coming home early, Keitaro locking himself in his office, Keitaro avoiding her and the girls, the odd occurrences in the house and the noises from the Annex Shinobu heard...

* * *

_"__You all have five weeks to make your decision, plenty of time I'm sure." He explained, floorboards creaking as he walked away "I suggest you leave now before I have to call the police on you for loitering."_

_"__Wa-wait," Haruka croaked, words almost trapped in her lung as she tried to figure out what to say "H-how long did you…This, all of this! Did you always…"_

_There was only silence though as his, foot steps disappeared up the stairs._

* * *

They were all connected, all of it. It was all one big web designed to get rid of them.

No wonder he didn't show up to join them this morning, he was planning this from the get go! All that coming home early, all that locking himself in the office, all to get himself ready for this day. How did he even…

Haruka then started laughing bitterly, startling Shinobu from her crying a bit. Frankly, she didn't care what she thought of it because at the moment she was slapping herself upside the head for being so clueless. She had been so worried about the Inn causing trouble she never considered it'd use Keitaro to do it. But what was worse was that it didn't even have to do much – just probably gave him the idea and motivation, then sat back and watched the fireworks. Just how long had her nephew been waiting to do this…?

"I should have seen this coming…" She murmured emptily

She was broken out her reverie by the sound of flesh, clay, and sword on wood, turning to see fist, pottery, and blade joining their powers once more, only to be repelled.

It was frustrating Motoko to no end "What black magic is this?! Why aren't any of our attacks doing anything to this door?!"

"Just keep hitting it!" Naru cried, fists turning raw red as she continued her assault "It has to give eventually! Then we're going to give that bastard a piece of our minds!"

Sarah had eventually given up on her ancient treasures and thrown herself at the wooden baricade, kicking and hitting the door screaming savagely as her tiny fists bounced off too "You can't do this to us! First you take daddy away from me, and now you're taking the dorm?! You stupid dork! I'm gonna-!"

Haruka turned to see Mitsune shoot off a round of nervous giggles as she sat in the corner, nursing two beers at once. She was used to landlords and a roommate telling her this was the final straw but it never made the realization less painful. But this was ten times worse, especially since the eviction was coming from the guy she had grown to see to be no more harmful than a stuffed plushie, or any less frightening as she was seeing now.

"This can't be happening, this _can't_ be happening! Kei-chan wouldn't do this to me!" she pushed her sliver hair back, desperately wishing she had her favorite sake bottle with her but chose to instead continue downing the beers she bought "I must be having another black out dream or something? Probably drank too much at the store and now Kei-chan and the others are dragging my sorry drunk ass home. There's no **fucking** way this is happening…"

Su was shaking another box empty, horrified that not a single bot or Mecha Tama could be found. All that was in there were her clothes, bundles of bananas, and her tool box "Big brother couldn't have gotten rid of them, he wouldn't! He knows how much Su loves her Mecha Tamas! Why did he do this? Why is he acting so strange?! D-did Su do something wrong…" the blonde tanned girl picked up her tool box and held it tight before a look of inspiration struck "Su knows – maybe Su can make a machine to make him act normal again; Su bets she could find some parts here if she tried!"

All Haruka could do was look away from each one of them, dead eyed and tired. She wanted to tell them it was no use, the Inn had forsaken them and only wanted Keitaro now, but all she could do was sit there with a her empty teacup, taking numb sips ever second.

"I should have seen this coming…" she murmured emptily again as she looked on.

* * *

After all the crying and yelling was done (and Mitsune having a mini-panic attack mistaking the wails of the ambulance coming down the street for a police siren), Haruka managed to get the girls settled down enough to explain something she knew would be hard to hear given circumstances.

"You can't stay here."

Sarah was the first to speak up "What do you mean we can't stay here! That four-eyed dork won't let us back into the dorm and we don't have anywhere else to go!"

The rest looked at her with pleading eyes and she did her best to remain firm "I know that Sarah – but there's not enough room here to for any of you to stay, and even if there were, this is still a business, not a hostel. I can't take care of you guys and keep this place running."

"T-then we can work here!" Shinobu panicked, eyes wide with fear. Haruka could tell she was reliving her parents divorce right now as her pupils turned to pinpricks "Sweeping, dusting, cleaning, table wiping, garbage duty, anything you want! You don't even have to pay us! J-just, please don't…"

Haruka held up her hand, silencing the shivering brunette "Look, I love you girls like you were my own, and I want to help you; but it looks bad for the shop and to my employees having a bunch of underage girls, " she turned to Mitsune, who was still on her alcoholic high, sniffling drunkenly "and one drunken women, sleeping on the kitchen floor."

"Well you must know of somewhere we can stay?" Motoko pressed vexingly, knuckles still white from the one-sided fencing session she and her friends had with the entrance to the dorm "At least somewhere close enough to the dorms to keep an eye on that despicable Urashima."

"Not for free if that's what you're hoping for, especially considering the market right now."

Each girl gave the other a dubious look. Haruka was their only hope in finding somewhere to stay until Keitaro finally came to his senses again, and now they really did have nowhere go. Most apartments were already full up with tenets by this time of year, and the ones that weren't were either too expensive (especially when you're a college student that was on parental paid tuition), too far from their respective schools, or in such seedy areas that you'd only sign the lease if you really were that desperate.

None of them had friends outside the group (willing) to house them and the others either, and they certainly couldn't ask their parents – Naru focused more on her studies than socializing with her peers while Motoko's pride foreboded her from asking her classmates nor her trio of adoring fans (who would probably sack an offshore village for her if she asked), and both would most likely jump into Japanese Sea before calling their families to come get them as it meant having to deal with her step family for the former and facing her elder sister's judgment for the latter.

Mutsumi could always go back to Okinawa but her classes (and Keitaro) were here and commuting would make things difficult. Not mention the thought of the airheaded sickly girl being left alone somewhere if she had one of her fainting spells was a bit unnerving.

Shinobu's parents would start fighting over who she'd stay with the second she arrived at their doorstep so they were not an option, and she was too scared to drag anyone else into the mess. She had made enough progress during her years in the Hinata to finally reach out to her schoolmates and acquaint herself with them – asking them to let her stay at their house for a five week slumber party (the other residents possibly included) seemed too bold and too soon.

Su's eccentrics kept most kids at school at bay enough that they forgot she was there, and going back home meant having to face both big sister Amalla and the whole inheriting the throne debate.

Kitsune had made one enemy too many out of acquaintances both old and new to be asking for favors, and she certainly couldn't go crawling back home after all these years.

Sarah had Seta, but he'd probably be too busy with work to watch her and try to find somewhere else she could stay so she could continue with school – but it wouldn't be the same as the Inn, and it didn't feel right being separated from Naru and the others.

Haruka sighed. She had a few friends in Tokyo she could lean on, but she wasn't sure they'd have enough space to house her and the girls, and some of them had boyfriends or male friends living with them so Naru and Motoko being there would be an issue. They were all literally between a rock and a hard place, and their only other option was one no one wanted to take "It's not the best plan, but maybe you should –"

Naru cut her off "We're not signing it."

The tall brunette clicked her tongue "I know you don't like it, but you don't have a lot of options, so maybe we should just –"

Then Mutsumi, suddenly awake and fresh as a daisy, piped in

"Why don't we call Granny – maybe she can do something."

Everyone seemed to brighten up at the prospect as Naru clapped her hands together ecstatically "That's an awesome idea! If Granny's here, she can make stupid Keitaro let us back in and make him pay for treating us like this! Maybe she might even take control of the dorm again!"

"Yeah," Haruka nodded nonchalantly "except Granny is still on her world trip, so it might take too long for her to get back. Plus, that also means bringing Kanako back with her…."

Everyone shuddered. Though it was rather long ago, the memory of Kanako Urashima's reign of terror over the Hinata dorms was still fresh in their minds – being forced to work like dogs, getting tied up and stuffed into barrels, the humiliation she brought upon them on a daily basis. Even when they fought back and joined their powers together to drive her off, she still managed to beat them down and only left because Keitaro returned from his trip with Seta in time and Granny's return. But even with her gone, the fear lingered. The girls would force each other into quizzes to see if they were really who they were when one of them acted odd, and Naru still to this day almost attack Motoko whenever she entered the hot springs with her.

Kanako Urashima was…difficult to face, like the final boss that shows up right after beating what you thought was the last boss, and you realized you've used up all of your items and the game won't let you use a save spot before you fight them.

They trusted Granny to keep her in line were she able to come back, but at the same time they were hesitant on taking the risk.

"'Sides," She added quickly "I think we should hold off on Granny as a last resort – no sense bringing her in unless we really can't get Keitaro to reconsider. But until then, we should probably stay away from the dorms as much as possible until we can think of a better plan."

Everyone seemed to at least agree with Haruka's sentiments except for a certain little girl who kicked the floor begrudgingly

"But we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Sarah barked "That dork can't get away with this!"

"Fear not Miss Sarah,." Motoko said, blade raised nobly to the teahouse ceiling "He won't. If that vile Urashima thinks he can kick us out without a fight he has another thing coming!"

Naru crossed her arms huffily as she turned to the blonde America "You got that right – he says he's bringing more people, but we'll just see about that. Knowing that wimp, it was probably all just him talking big and trying to scare us. I bet you by the end of the term he'll be on his knees begging us to come back!"

"Y-ya shure'bout dat Nalu," Mitsune slurred, blue eyes glassy from her inebriation "H-hii shure shaunded serieosh tah meh."

"Trust me; he's **_never_** going to go through with it!"

* * *

Keitaro tried to drag himself to his room but ended up crashing in the hallway, blankly staring at the wooden ceiling. He had done it, he kicked the girls out, he was free!

It was finally over

_No,_ he told himself, removing his glasses _It's only the beginning_

There was so much he had to do – get a new job to pay for the new changes he was going to have to make to the dorm, fix the roof, clean up the rooms, change the phone numbers (and block a few)….

But for now, that could wait – he just wanted to take the moment to enjoy the fact that for the first time in the three years he set foot in this place and the fourteen years that have past since he had first stayed in the Inn, he was alone.

No one yelling, no one conning him, no one calling him to fix holes in the roof they made or cussing him out or searching for him to beat the stuffing out of him – he was completely, utterly alone with just himself and his thoughts.

Soon his eyes grew heavy and he suddenly felt very tired.

_I'll get started once I wake up_ he thought hazily as a soothing calm wrapped around him and the entire Inn

* * *

It was a bright sunny day in Tokyo, and Temari Hanezawa was oh so thrilled it was finally over as she headed back to her house. Classes were through for the week and she was eager use her weekend for some much needed fun.

She already had the whole thing planned out – once she had changed into more casual clothes, she'd start out by hitting up her favorite restaurant with their friends Shizuru Futabi and Daiji Yamato to meet one of Daiji's old classmates (it was…Kentami, Kensuke, Kendomo?), followed some wild and crazy Karaoke. Then they'd head to downtown to give him a grand tour of Tokyo nightlife and, if they had time, stop by the arcades for a bit. Then she'd head home to finish it off with her favorite snacks and a nightlong marathon of Daylight Dreams and Sexy Glass! She couldn't wait!

"Weekend, weekend~! I can't wait for the–" she began to sing until the sound of police sirens interrupted her. The pair watched as a line of police cars streamed past them and turned the corner.

"Never seen the police go down that street before," She mused, eyes still glued to the corner "Wonder what happened?"

* * *

Temari gave a small sneeze and rubbed her arms as a cool breeze brushed pass her and her companions "Jeez it's getting cold – I thought spring meant warm weather!"

"Well it's not spring yet," the tall redhead to her left said, hands behind his head "That's why Shizu told you to dress warmly and asked if you wanted to leave early with her."

"I thought she meant warmly as in "wear stuff you'd wear outside in March"!" She whined, sneezing again before tugging at her friend's coat sleeves "Come on Dai-chan, let me have your coat! You got muscles to keep you warm while I'm small and frail! I'll _die_ in the cold!"

"You saved enough fat from all those burgers at the restaurant – use that." Daiji deadpanned, causing her to blush and grumble under breath about how someone eating 18 bowls of ramen shouldn't be talking about fat.

Suddenly her shoulders felt heavy, and she looked down to see a light blue scarf over her shoulder left by the tanned brunette to her right that was accompanying them.

He immediately looked always a little shamefully when he realized she was staring "S-sorry. You said you were cold and…"

The small blonde-dyed girl blinked as she touched the scarf with a light smile, then suddenly started mischievously smirking before she wrapped it around herself "Now now Kentaro, no need to play white knight with me. If you really want a date that badly, just ask."

Kentaro blushed and began to chuckle nervously "Ah, w-well…"

Daiji responded with his own smirk as he slide over andclamped a hand on his shoulder "I wouldn't do that if I was you Ken – first it's a scarf, then next thing you know she's asking you to help housesit for a friend to get rid of their ex's Yakuza buddies."

Temari narrowed her eyes as she childishly stomped her feet "That only happened **once**, and I said I was sorry! She never told me anything about that!"

Kentaro's eyes went wide "Wait, that really happened!?"

Temari immediately stopped walking, forcing her companions to do the same as an unreadable expression appeared on her face.

"_Yeah_…" She said in an almost bitter tone before her bright smile forced its way back "But it's fine - those guys are in jail and I know better now! Nothing to worry about."

Kentaro looked like he was about to ask more, but Daiji quickly changed topics "So Ken, you decided if you want a apartment or a dorm while your getting ready for next term?"

"O-oh," he stammered "No, not yet."

The small girl blinked as she looked between the two "I thought he was staying with you?"

"No, I'm staying with someone else at the moment." The brunette explained,"I mean, it's nice seeing Daiji and the gang again and everything, but I don't feel comfortable freeloading off him like that."

"Plus I charge rent." The redhead joked, and the other two laughed with him

As they passed by the TV store though – a peculiar scene caught their eyes.

"Hey – isn't that girl in your class?" Daiji asked

On the screen was a redhead struggling against the Tokyo police as they dragged her away from a short haired brunette boy, who seemed to be stuck between being annoyed and being disappointed. She was yelling something at him, redfaced and teary-eyed while attempting to breakthrough the barricade of, oh, 35 policemen to try and throttle him. The sound was muted but there were subtitles going across the screen

"Ohmigosh you're right!" She gasped, nailpolished hands clutching her face in shock "It's…what was her name again? Narutarugesa? Norego? Wendigo?"

"Naruna," Daiji corrected "Naruna Narunarima I believe."

"Oh yeah," she said, arms crossed thoughtfully "And that boy's…Keigo Ramashike?Ke-"

"Keima Urashitaro" He said exasperatedly before giving her a tiny tap on the head "You really need to work on your naming skills – won't look good to your classmates if you can't call them by name properly."

Temari turned away with a pout "I-It's not my fault I can't remember! I have a short attention span is all! Besides, Naruna didn't talk a lot to anyone – I'm surprised you even know who she is!"

"Still helps to remember," Daiji said as Kentaro got closer to the screen, eyes wide as he quickly tried to read the title across the screen

"It says something about… trespassing" He murmured as the announcer silently spoke, watching the subtitles pop in and out"Let's see...Ah, she tried to break into her ex's apartment after he broke up with her to attack him, but a neighbor noticed her and called the police."

"Really?" Temari said, squinting to get a better look at the TV as well "That's…awful – I didn't know her that well, but she doesn't seem the type to do that. She was so...shy, never went up to anyone."

"It's the ones you least expect," Daiji shrugged "Shizu said something about one of her classmates getting suspended from campus for the same thing. I've seen her on campus - big old glasses and always has her face in a text book. Seemed too quiet for that stuff, but you never know till it happens..."

Kentaro blinked, staring at the angry crying girl on the TV being stuffed into a police car before it changed to today's horse race results and turned away from the screen "Tokyo's gotten a lot crazier since I went abroad."

As they walked away Daiji turned to him with an ambiguous smile that made him feel a bit unsettled "That's how the start of spring is - it's the time of year that tends to bring out the crazy in everyone."

* * *

[4 weeks left until end of Winter term of Tokyo U]

* * *

A/N: Bet you thought the girl on TV was Naru didn't you?

Well, finally got the new chapter out (take that life – you can't keep me down!). Thanks for all the comments and suggestions!

Sorry if you didn't get a chance to see much of Keitaro's new attitude in real action yet, but it will be soon (and not Game of Thrones the dragons are coming soon).

Also yes, that was Kentaro Sakata from the anime. No, he's not one of the new residents (I considered it, but decided it was too predictable a move). But yes, we will see more of him as well as Temari and Daiji (and no, I'm not telling you who Temari's friend is – you have to guess).

Now then, it's time for…..MagnificentSoul's Headcannon!

I noticed that in some of the variations of this story, the girls always call Granny when Keitaro gets his new attitude , which is most likely because she's gotten them out of trouble enough times to make them consider her a sort of quick fix to the problems they can't smash or run away from. But now that she's currently handling a problem they don't want to face (Kanako – who will reappear sometime in the future) that requires her full attention, they're on their own. And Haruka's no help as she's limited to her actions as well (Because if she can't spare the time to take over the Inn, I doubt she'll have any to let them crash with her wherever she goes)

While some of the Hinata girls have options outside of returning to the dorm, the problem isn't putting aside their own preferences to take them (which in Naru and Motoko's case, is unlikely), but whether they all will – or in their case, Naru. She's the leader, their red ranger – while not true in it's own right, the girls believe they have to support her (most likely due to them all growing to become friends in the Inn and the unbalanced dynamics between them in that right before Keitaro's arrival), and they've grown to defer to her in issues regarding the dorm and later Keitaro (with the exception of the Love Hina again OVA and Molmol arc). Even when they think it's a bad idea, they'll go through with it because it's Naru leading the charge. Like Granny, she's "protected" them (or in Motoko's case, helped with "protection"), and like with Granny, not supporting her would be short of treason.

But the girls have their own minds too, and they will come to realize they're following her into a deadend. But the real question is whose going to crack first.

Comment response:

Zincat: Thanks for the advice! I'm actually in search in Beta-readers at the moment, so hopefully they'll help catch the grammar mistakes I missed.

SilentSinger948: I'm still considering whether the new guy residents will be all OCs or crossovers. I may just do both but we'll see. I will tell you that two of them will not be male.

Well, see you next time!


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